Augusta, Georgia (2/8 – 20). A lifelong observer of the Gentlemen’s game of Golf the current controversy over the newly formed LIV Golf association headed by Greg Norman has caused tempers to flare and headed by Greg Norman has caused tempers to flare and split the views. It misses the 25,000 in attendance, so guess for a start up not so shabby. Regardless of what we think about the money, the Saudi’s or not, its pretty shameless that Marxists “Extinction Rebellion” banners call for “blood money”, 9/11 victims decry former president Trump and St. Andrew’s bans Greg Norman a repeated winner of the British Open is uninvited. Shame on the PGA, Shame on St. Andrew’s. It’s about Golf, the game. Period.
It seems the PGA is fearing the competition of the Rebel Tour, instead embracing it. Belittled as a ‘circus’, ‘not serious’ and just for the money, are shallow arguments by the establishment. It is clearly a message for the PGA to change or face extinction. The Rebel tour is good for Golf.
What is concerning is that unsavoury characters like the ‘Extinction Rebellion’ surface in the orbit. This rent a crowd with its leaders are self-declared Marxists-revolutionary were imprisoned for ‘sedition against the crown’ for trying to bring down airplanes with drones should question the leaders of the PGA who came up with this bright idea to get extremist greenies into what essential is a labour dispute.
One group works for the men, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, which holds the monopoly over what is a sport for everyone. The other group, the ‘Rebel Tour’ does not agree to work for the men and starts a new gig. LIV Golf. The two groups part, clearly the ‘men’ aka PGA is unhappy about it and makes the live of the rebels living hell. But they got the money and are happy. The end. May the best win.
Unless you of course enter in unfair practices, obstruct the business, hinder TV rights, influence governments, TV stations, or radio, merchandise and ban people from playing on other tours. This makes the relationships toxic which means the PGA is afraid of competition?
After all, why is the debate about money and sports only now suddenly an issue? It was not an issue for sport aces such as Steve Curry (48 million USD per year), Federer (84 million USD per year) in Tennis, or soccer giants like Kylian Mbappe (62 million USD per year), Messi is only paid 41 million USD per year, Max Scherzer in Baseball (44 million USD per year!) or Aaron Rodgers (50 million USD per year) in American football. And Golf superstars Tiger Woods makes a solid 68 million USD per year. So why suddenly should golfers be slaves of the PGA masters? Charles Barkley has a point. All about a bit ‘selective outrage’.
Competition is good for the players. Spare us the toxic politics.
Then we suddenly have the blood money issue. Saudi Arabia, 9/11 and so on. This sounds more like a disinformation campaign paid by someone with vested interested on keeping the status quo. It is strange that none of this issues surface at PGA events? Except at the PGA Championship steep beer prices at the PGA tours.
It is like blaming Bayern Munich for the Nazi party that was founded in Munich. Or the role of the German Football Association, DFB, and the Nazi propaganda machine is well studied by academics in the field. So, this narrative is highly questionable.
Golf is about the long hours of training, the weeks absent from home, family, and failures that every successful athlete experiences. And it’s about endurance, the love for the game and winning. It is not about the politics, and the monopoly that some trying to maintain. It’s about Golf, the game. Period.
